Fiona McIntosh: Voyager Author of the Month

Fiona McIntosh was born and raised in Sussex in the UK, but also spent early childhood years in West Africa. She left a PR career in London to travel and settled in Australia in 1980. She has since roamed the world working for her own travel publishing company, which she runs with her husband. She lives in Adelaide with her husband and twin sons. Her website is at www.fionamcintosh.com.

Her latest book, The Scrivener's Tale, is a stand-alone and takes us back to the world of Morgravia from her very first series, The Quickening:

In the bookshops and cafes of present-day Paris, ex-psychologist Gabe Figaret is trying to put his shattered life back together. When another doctor, Reynard, asks him to help with a delusional female patient, Gabe is reluctant... until he meets her. At first Gabe thinks the woman, Angelina, is merely terrified of Reynard, but he quickly discovers she is not quite what she seems.

As his relationship with Angelina deepens, Gabe's life in Paris becomes increasingly unstable. He senses a presence watching and following every move he makes, and yet he finds Angelina increasingly irresistible.

When Angelina tells Gabe he must kill her and flee to a place she calls Morgravia, he is horrified. But then Angelina shows him that the cathedral he has dreamt about since childhood is real and exists in Morgravia.

A special 10th Anniversary edition of her first fantasy book, Myrren's Gift, will be released in December!

Quillian the were-fey - a detail from Aaron Briggs' illustration on Path of the Stray

I had no idea what I’d signed up for when saying yes to the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival. Being the only SF/F author among all the literary and media giants required some quick thinking. I got very good at defining Speculative Fiction on the spot, and explaining that my books were not actually written for children. All in all, it was a blast!

My workshop on immersion sold out. It went fabulously. You can see the visual aids to get an idea of content. I also put together a high school presentation. Three hundred young students and me on stage, mic in one hand, notes in the other—a real challenge when the wind blew my hair in streamers across my face. Once I started talking though, it all rolled out. We discussed writing speculative fiction, the genre that asks what if. I signed books after, as well as binders and back packs. Great fun!

Kim and the Quantum Enchantment trilogy

My panel with Kathy Lette, Laura Bloom and Krissy Kneen was hilarious. While the others were talking about their first orgasms and the importance of thorough research prior to any sex (scenes), I pointed out the value of sex as a tool for world building. It can reveal deeper levels of character and even more fundamentally, portray the social paradigm. I used the title of the panel, Bodice Rippers, as an example of how sexual references tell us something about gender biases in the culture. I signed lots of books after that one.

The panel on The Magical and Fantastical was my favourite. Chaired by Angela Meyer, I shared the stage with Maria Van Daalen, an academic and the only Mambo Asogwe Voodoo High Priestess in Europe. I won over some new readers that day, though at the signing, a woman waited in line for quite some time to tell me she couldn’t get into fantasy, but her husband loved it. I waited for her to hand me the book to sign (for her husband) but it turned out she didn’t like him much either and wasn’t getting one . . . On Sunday I did a panel on Keeping the Faith with the incredibly successful Matthew Reilly and brilliant Larissa Behrendt, chaired by the incoming festival director, Candida Baker. There was a great discussion at the end on eBooks, thanks to audience questions from Jodi Cleghorn.

Murray's book on Reg Mombassa

The festival theme this year was World Without Walls, but I renamed it World Sans Social Filters after the biography panel Significant others: writing the life of an icon. Turns out Gretel Pinniger, aka Madam Lash, hates her biographer, Sam Everingham, and wants to do bad things to him. They were separated on stage by the calm and charismatic HarperCollins author, Murray Waldren and his icon subject, Reg Mombassa. The eye of the storm. To his credit, Everingham didn’t retaliate against the barrage of accusations from Pinniger. He was sweating bullets but managed to respond gracefully, all considered. The Chair, Jill Eddington, deserves a metal, at the very least.

My biggest thrill besides introducing so many readers to the genre was meeting the people from HarperCollinsAus. What a fabulous team, and boy do they know how to host a dinner party! Looking forward to seeing everyone at AussieCon4!

Kim Falconer lives in Byron Bay with two black cats. She runs an astrology forum and alternative science site‚ trains with a sword and is working on the second book in the Quantum Encryption trilogy, the follow up to Quantum Enchantment, both of which are set in the world of Gaela, as well as on Earth. The first book in the new series is called Path of the Stray and is out now! Kim is going to be the guest of honour at tonight’s Fang Books Chat. Join us at 8pm over at Fang’s website.

A Thousand Deaths - Wraparound cover illustration for George Alec Effinger's A THOUSAND DEATHS by Hugo professional artist nominee John Picacio

New York August 9, 23:09 , London August 10, 04:09, Sydney August 10, 13:09 LA August 9, 20:09

RAM: Your dreams are full of messages right now. Get a new dream journal and keep it by your bed. You’ll be surprised at the creative insights you gain. To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe. ~Anatole

AUROCHS: There is a friendship in need of healing. Take the first step and you’ll feel relief. If in doubt, ask if you’d rather be happy or right. Arrogance may have a place in technology, but not in healing. I need to get out of my own way if I am to heal. ~Anne Wilson Schaef

TWINS: There is a ridiculous amount of energy swirling in your career sector. Attention, contracts, clients and rave reviews are all in store. The time to live is now. The time to imagine and forget the past is now. The time to shine is now. ~Anonymous

COBRA: Thoughts turn towards travel and the desire to seek new horizons. There is much to gain by communing with other people in other places. Buy the ticket. Jump on board. To travel is to take a journey into yourself. ~Danny Kaye

LION: Shared resources are of great importance right now and that doesn’t always mean tangible. Be the support you want to experience. We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it far more. ~Madame Swetchine

CERES: A relationship seems to be all over the place, until you get the right perspective. Try thinking of it as a pet. Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life. ~James Cromwell

BALENCIA: Keep up the daily rituals, exercise and food regimes this month as there are challenges that require your sustained and gracious stability. Stay calm, breathe deep and spot the goodness in each day. I know my life is kind of orderly. I just like that better. ~Andrea Martin

SCORPION: Creativity flourishes even as emotions go wild. Focus on your task and allow everyone else the opportunity to experience every zany choice they make.The worst thing is to get involved with people who aren’t passionate about what they’re doing. ~ Willem Dafoe

ARCHER: There is work to do on the foundations of your home and/or your centre of stability. In either case, renewal is at hand along with the feeling that you can rest easy in high storms. One needn’t learn the mysteries of the wind, to sail effortlessly around the world. ~NFTU

SEA-GOAT: Siblings, community groups or neighbours need extra attention now. This is a great time to roll up your sleeves and partake. Much more is accomplished than the job you set out to do. A reward cannot be valued if it is not understood. ~ Phillip C. Grant

WATER-BEARER: A talent brews and it is dropping all kinds of hints for you to let it out! Developing your dream goals isn’t like climbing Mount Everest. In philosophy, it is not the attainment of the goal that matters, it is the things that are met on the way. ~Henry Ellis

FISHES: This time is designed to put you in the driver’s seat. Get easy with calling the shots, being the boss and staking your claim. There is no one in the world who knows more about what you want than you. Trust yourself. ~Golda Meir

Kim Falconer lives in Byron Bay with two black cats. She runs an astrology forum and alternative science site‚ trains with a sword and is working on the second book in the Quantum Encryption trilogy, the follow up to Quantum Enchantment, both of which are set in the world of Gaela, as well as on Earth. The first book in the new series is called Path of the Stray and is out now! Kim is going to be the guest of honour at tonight’s Fang Books Chat. Join us at 8pm over at Fang’s website.